A Chocolate Lover’s Guide to Barcelona

If you ever visit Barcelona, prepare to be blown away by the sheer amount of chocolate craze and expertise here in the Catalan region of Spain. Chocolate itself here is its own character: they are as colorful and unique as the city’s Gaudi structures, but above all, they taste even better than they look.

Catalan chocolate, or turró, is unique in that they don’t exactly use cocoa as their main ingredient; rather, it is made with a mix of honey, almonds, egg whites, and sugar. The recipe for turró has been around for centuries, and locals love eating them, especially during Christmas time.

To reign supreme in all things chocolate, here are my top five chocolate places to check out in Barcelona:

Museum of Chocolate

Located just minutes away from the Picasso Museum, the Museum of Chocolate offers a truly sweet (ha) experience that’s like no other. It offers visitors an in depth history of chocolate making and a chance to participate in dessert making classes. Bonus: your ticket is literally an edible piece of chocolate. Sweet, no?

Chök: The Chocolate Kitchen

Chök is a small chocolate specialty chain that islocated only in Barcelona. Their wide selection of chocolates serve all ranges of taste buds (milk, white, and all percentages of dark), and they include unique combinations like chocolate with blueberry/violet/rose petals and chocolate with Irish coffee popcorn. You can find these flavors in the form of cakes, bars, muffins, and much more.

Vicens

Turró boutique chain Vicens is a one of a kind chocolate brand that you can’t miss. I had the pleasure of visiting their shop in the Gothic Quarter on Carrer Petritxol, which is the essential street to go for all things chocolate. Vicens has been around since 1775 and invites the best pastry chefs around the world to create indulgent flavors for their best-selling chocolate bars, which are comprised of a hard external shell with gooey filling on the inside.

Petritxol Xocoa

Also located on Carrer Petritxol, Petritxol Xocoa has a decadent window display of chocolates that will totally catch your eye! Pictured above are these little mounds of chocolate with an assortment of nuts and cereal bits (think Rice Krispies, but with chocolate). The cafe is most well known for its diverse selection of chocolate truffles and churros.

Dulcinea

Dulcinea is another mandatory shop to check out on Carrer Petritxol. They are best known for their meltingly delicious hot chocolate with churros, and because of that, there is sometimes a long wait just to snag a table! This family-owned business has been around since 1941 and continues to serve traditional Spanish sweets, pastries, and coffee. It’s an old establishment with plenty of charm – I highly recommend!

Which place seems the most appealing to you? (Or maybe you’d like to go to all?) Let us know in the comment section below!

Vivian is a travel enthusiast and food connoisseur living in New York City. Her curiosity and passion for languages and culture has taken her across eight countries over the past year. When not working, you can find her meandering in art museums or sampling food at the street markets.